There is absolutely no question in my mind that you’ve heard of Gazzo. Maybe you’ve seen his Fool Us performance. It’s possible you’ve seen another clip from Youtube. Or equally likely, you could have seen him busking in your city!

Gazzo is what we call an “Old School” performer. He does his tricks, and he does them well. In this episode Gazzo basically argues that’s the way it should be, and needs to be if you’re going to spend your life entertaining people. Most importantly he explains how you can do it.

One thing you might notice is some controversial thoughts. He thinks magic is easy, he thinks magic is pathetic, and he makes some interesting comparisons with juggling. I would be curious to know what YOU think.

There’s something in me that knows it really is difficult to turn a magic trick, as it exists in todays form and make sure it’s an entertaining expirience. Most of the time, it’s just an annoying person showing you a puzzle.

If you’re hoping to be an awesome entertainer, then you might want to start in the place which Gazzo recommends: busking on the street.

Going into this I thought that busking on the street was a great way to learn because you would know if you were good based on whether or not people paid you afterwards.

He explains, the way that you know that you’re good is by paying attention to the ways that people react to you when they react. Notice if people walk away in the first 5 to 10 minutes of your set or if they stay there and more people come.

It’s also important to point out the difference between street magic and busking. Street magic is bothering people with magic who are walking on the street. Busking is entertaining audiences who are interested in participating in street entertainment often in exchange for money at the end.

It’s of course no surprise that the secret to being great is by performing a lot. But to be incredibly specific as Gazzo was: do three tricks well. You basically need to make sure that you have set, or an act. Then you have to make sure that you’re an excellent performer.

If you’re looking good for the name of the book or DVD set that has well tailored material for you that’s already polished and has outs and jokes built into it………

I have terrible news. That’s impossible!

You need to make your affect work! By putting in the work

If you want more tips though, just listen to the god damn episode.

And leave a comment if you’re a human with a face and any opinions you wanna share (about this episode)